


it's a different kind of danger

by sirenofodysseus



Category: The Mentalist
Genre: Circa S4, F/M, Psychopath in Sheep's Clothing, Trope Bingo Round 10, indecent proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 13:34:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14333529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirenofodysseus/pseuds/sirenofodysseus
Summary: “If you refuse to assist me, I won’t simply kill you; I’ll kill your entire team instead.”Pre-Crimson Hat. Lisbon gets a late night visitor in the form of Red John.





	it's a different kind of danger

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I could say this was a fluff piece...but it's not? 
> 
> Written in my desire to play trope bingo, using the prompt: indecent proposal.

Staring upwards from her cluttered desk, Teresa Lisbon meets the gaze of Sheriff Thomas McAllister. Compared to their first run-in, nearly four years ago, he is clean-shaven and is no longer portraying the bumbling sheriff as he grasps her foregone service weapon with one hand, and a kitchen knife—stained red—with the other.

 

She says nothing, still shell-shocked by his reveal. When Sheriff McAllister had phoned her, a little after eight in the morning, she had agreed to meet with him to help with a case. What she hadn’t expected was for him to step into her office, shake her hand and then, demand her gun from her in one fair swoop. She had always anticipated Red John being a powerful and attractive individual with massive wealth; not a silver-haired bumbling fool, who had been more flustered by a few failed rounds of rock, paper, scissors than a serial murder.

 

“I wouldn’t dream of hurting a hair on your pretty little head, Agent Lisbon, I promise,” he tells her, after he’s locked them in and he’s drawn her blinds. She doesn’t consider telling him no one would come even if she made enough racket to wake the dead, as her team has already left for the day and Jane hasn’t been with them in months. “You are a valuable asset, after all.” Her stomach twists at his low utterance of the word _asset_ , because all his _assets_ end up dead. “You’ll be the first-person Mister Jane contacts, when he grows tired of his con.”

 

Lisbon blinks at the delusion. Jane’s breakdown hadn’t been for Red John. If anything, Red John had forced Jane’s hand with his _happy anniversary_ gimmick. She opens her mouth to respond, when McAllister moves his knife ever so slightly as a cue for her to remain silent. She ignores it. “I suppose you’ve never heard the saying, you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

 

“And I believe I asked _you_ for your silence,” he tells her coolly.

 

“And I’ll tell you right now, I’m not like your other friends,” Lisbon gives, her tone matching his. McAllister furrows his brows, before he throws his head back and laughs.

 

Lisbon can only stare in confusion. Did she say something amusing?

 

“You must think me insane,” he replies, still chuckling lightly.

 

“Add delusional and you’d be a little closer to my current thoughts." McAllister smiles at her, which causes her to glance down at the knife and gun. She realizes she probably shouldn’t agitate a serial killer, who holds her life in his hands, regardless of his earlier promise.

 

He keeps smiling as he speaks, “I forget how refreshing it is to be challenged.”  Lisbon brings her knees closer together. “Although, it is quite foolish.” He waves her gun slightly and she swallows roughly at the reminder. She should have never handed her gun to him. She should have taken a shot and…he interrupts her thoughts by tapping the knife against her desk. 

 

She narrows her eyes at the annoyance. His M.O. doesn’t scream monologuing his victims to death, so something tells her he’s not going to kill her. “If you were going to kill me, you would have done so already.” He taps the desk with his knife again. “So, again; what do you want from me?”

 

He glances down at the knife. “I want the same thing as you, Teresa.” The casual use of her first name, especially out of his mouth, makes her sick. “For Mister Jane to return home safely.” Without hesitation, she feels one of his hands on hers before he begins to rub soft circles into her flesh with his thumb; and although she wants nothing more than to yank her hand back, as though she’s been burned, she can’t.

 

Her gun, now free from McAllister’s hand, keeps her from reacting. She knows if she can keep him distracted long enough, she can reclaim her gun and her power.

 

“You’re right,” she replies softly, after a moment of silence. McAllister glances at her and she bites her bottom lip, already hating herself for the method of distraction. “I do miss him.”

 

McAllister pats at her hand, the corners of his lips turning upwards. “You miss his dick rubbing inside you.” She almost recoils at his lude comment. “Not the same thing, I can assure you.”

 

Though repulsed, Lisbon slowly rises from her seat and leans across the desk. McAllister stares at her, before his eyes drift downward. “My lips are up here,” she tells him harshly, before he’s got his lips on hers. She closes her eyes and leans into the kiss, as she uses one of her hands to wrap around the barrel of her gun.

 

She waits until after he pulls back, his lips swollen, to maneuver the muzzle against the underside of his chin. “You son of a bitch,” she tells him as she moves to pull the trigger.

 

The gun clicks and instead of being drenched in a mess of blood, tissue and sinew, McAllister merely _laughs_.

 

“Did you honestly think you could kill me?”

 

She curses under her breath, her heart racing as he reveals the clip from her gun that he somehow removed without her noticing. He tosses it to the ground with a clatter, before he knocks the gun from her hands.

 

“And I wanted to do this the easy way too,” he tells her, sighing, before he promptly presses the blade of his knife against her jugular. She swallows. His voice then becomes a low murmur. “It would be almost sensual to watch you die.” She feels his blade scrape against her neck, which causes her to involuntarily shiver. “However, again, I won’t kill you tonight.” He pulls away from her, before she touches her neck gingerly expecting blood on her fingers. “As I said earlier, you _are_ a valuable asset and I require your assistance.” She is not bleeding, so she pulls away from her neck and hides her fidgeting hands beneath her desk while McAllister continues his monologue. “If you refuse to assist me, I won’t simply kill you; I’ll kill your entire team instead.” McAllister smiles, as he tucks his knife away.

 

She doesn’t doubt the threat’s credibility; she also doesn’t doubt he’d kill them all without pause. While Lisbon might be willing to accept her own death, especially by Red John’s hand, she’s not about to condemn her team to the whims of a psychopath in sheep’s clothing. So, she takes a deep breath and she nods. “I’ll do anything, alright. Just don’t kill them.”

 

After all, she wonders as she watches him smirk, what could be worse than death?

 

::::

 

Stepping past the malfunctioning courthouse metal detector with Van Pelt behind her, Lisbon grimaces at the guard, who apologizes as he uses his handheld metal detector to further ensure she’s not hiding any weapons on her person. She knows he’s just doing his job, but she’s already removed her service weapon and badge which makes her feel almost naked.

 

“Probably some loose change, Agent Lisbon,” Kenny, the courthouse guard, explains with a small smile as he moves the wand down her side. It emits a loud _beep_ at her left hand, which causes him to frown. Lisbon extends her left hand to Kenny, thinking nothing of it, until she hears a soft gasp from Van Pelt. “Well, that would explain it.” She glances downwards, immediately spotting the forgotten dark band around her left-hand ring finger.

 

Lisbon mutters an apology to Kenny, before she reclaims her possessions.

 

“You’re _engaged_ , boss?” Van Pelt asks, her voice full of surprise. Lisbon doesn’t reply as she returns her service weapon to her hip. “I didn’t even know you were…”

 

Lisbon fixes her with a firm stare. “My personal life is nobody’s business, especially yours.” Van Pelt glances downwards, frowning. Lisbon turns to continue down the hallway, uncaring if the junior agent follows her or not. She knows she shouldn’t be angry with Van Pelt’s innocent question, as it’s not the redhead’s fault; but she just can’t help herself from snapping at the ill reminder. Truthfully, she had almost forgotten about the weight on her left hand. A weight, McAllister had left her with when he had demanded her assistance by asking for her hand in marriage.

 

The sheriff-turned-serial killer – or was it serial killer-turned-sheriff? – hadn’t explained the _why_ behind his involuntary proposal, but Lisbon had an inkling that it all revolved around whatever mind game Red John was playing with Jane.

 

She hears Van Pelt’s footsteps not too far behind and she sighs. Eventually, she’ll have to disclose the matter of her engagement to Thomas McAllister to her unit; but until then, she’ll consider how to expose him as the infamous serial killer, because she’s almost certain nobody would believe her if she told them Thomas McAllister was Red John.


End file.
